Book rack attachment for chairs



Aug. 4, 1959 J. MILLER 7 2,897,976

BOOK RACK ATTACHMENT FOR CHAIRS Filedfiune 7, 1957 INVENTOR.

.JouEsI. Mmuzz BOOK RACK ATTACHMENT FOR CHAIRS Jones Ivey Miller, Greenville, Tex. Application June 7, 1957, Serial No. 664,434

1 Claim. (Cl. 211--113) V This invention relates generally to book racks, and more particularly has reference to a book rack adapted to be suspended from the upper end of a steel folding chair, in position against the back of'the chair, forthe purpose of keeping in proper place hymn books, bibles, literature, etc. While the invention has probably its most ready application to use in churches, it will be recognized, from the description to be provided hereinafter, as having general utility.

In most churches there are assembly rooms, in which there will usually be kept a number of folding chairs. Books are kept adjacent to or on the chairs, and these might be hymn books or other items. Usually, when the hymn books are kept on the chairs, they fall off the chairs onto the floor. Further, often it is inconvenient to find a location at which one may be seated, particularly if ones arms are filled, making it difiicult to remove a book from a chair on which it is disposed. 4

In view of the above, it is proposed, in carrying out the invention, to provide a readily removable book rack, particularly but not necessarily to be used on folding chairs, with said rack being so designed as to support the books in an out-of-the-way position, where they will not interfere with the regular use of the chair.

Another object is to facilitate the attachment or detachment of the book rack. This is of particular importance in view of the fact that the rack is especially designed for use on' folding chairs. chair is to be folded, it will be desirable to remove the book rack with the least possible loss of time and this is permitted by the nature of the invention.

Obviously, when a ire States Patent A further object is to provide a book rack that can be manufactured at very low cost, and can, in a typical embodiment, comprise a plurality of plastic elements readily molded to the desired shape, and capable of assembly with equal facility.

Another object is to provide a book rack which will be so designed as to be usable on chairs of various shapes,

sizes, or designs, with the rack being so formedas to require a minimum amount of redesign for fitting the same to different chairs. The rack constituting the invention, in a preferred embodiment, is so designed that it will be usable on the chairs presently being sold by the main folding chair manufacturers.

Another object is to provide a book rack as described which will securely hold the books in place, and will include a rackframe selected portions of which constitute the means for suspending the device from a chair back, as well as the means for holding the lower end of the rack outwardly from the chair back.

Other objects Will appear from the following description, the claims appended thereto, and from the annexed. drawing, in which like reference characters designate like parts throughout the several views, and wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a book rack according to the invention mounted upon a conventional steel folding chair;

Figure 2 is a rear elevational view of the rack and of the upper portion of the chair;

Figure 3 is a horizontal section substantially on line 3--3 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a vertical section, on an enlarged scale, substantially on line 4-4 of Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a sectional view, on the same scale as Figure 4, taken on the same cutting plane as Figure 4, showing a different mounting of the device;

Figure 6 is an enlarged perspective view of the book rack per se; and I Figure 7 is an enlarged, detail sectional view on line 7--7, showing the suspension means on a scale enlarged above that of Figure 6.

' Referring to the drawings in detail, a conventional steel folding chair has been illustrated, including the main frame 10 having the side legs extended upwardly to merge into abight 12. At their lower ends, the legs of the main frame form the front legs of the chair, and are covered by rubber feet 14 or similar protective devices.

Hinge brackets 16 are connected to the respective legs 10, and a rear leg frame 18 is pivotally connected at 20 to the brackets .16, and'has at its lower end the feet 22. A seat portion 24 is supported by the respective frames, pivoting upon pins 26 carried by the main or front frame It).

The book rack constituting the present invention has been generally designated at 28, and is usable to advantage on a conventional chair such as has been illustrated and briefly described previously herein. The rack 28, as shown in Figure 7, has at its opposite ends identically formed, transversely spaced, downwardly projecting, forwardly extending hooks 30 of inverted J-shape, protectively sheathed by rubber sleeves 32, said hooks being adapted to hook over the bight portion 12 of the chair, as

clearly shown in Figures 1 and 2. Each hook includes a straight and vare disposed in a common plane. The hooks 30, at the lower ends 31 of the rear legs thereof, are integrally formed upon the forward ends of the upper, coplanar legs of C-shaped end frames 34, having lower legs 36 that are adapted to bear against the back surface of the chair back in a manner to be made presently apparent. The lower legs 36 are in a common plane parallel to the plane of the upper legs, and the common plane of the upper legs of the end frames is perpendicular to the common plane of the rear legs of the hooks. The upper legs are disposed, over their full lengths, rearwardly of the common plane of the rear legs of the hooks, and the end frames have their straight, elongated bight portions extending downwardly from the rear extremities of the upper legs of the end frames in a common plane parallel to the mentioned plane of the rear legs of hooks. The lower legs 36 of the end frames are rigid with the bight portions at the lower extremities of the bight portions and project forwardly therefrom a distance such that the front ends of said lower legs 36 are disposed forwardly of the plane of the rear legs of the hooks. Connected between the lower legs 36, forwardly from the bight portions of the end frames, is a bottom support bar ,38, and similarly connected between the bight portions 34, at locations spaced vertically of said bight portions, are rear or retaining bars 40.

As will be noted, the bottom bar is disposed at a location between the common plane of the rear legs of the hooks and the common plane of the bight portions of the end frames. It is also to be noted that the retaining bars 40 are disposed substantially in the common plane to each other and to the bottom bar 38. Thus, the re-.

taining bars and the bottom bar cooperate in supporting 3 one or more books B or similar articles, in positions such that the supported articles can be readily removed through the open top of the frame.

Secured to the midlength portion of the bottom bar 38 is a'forwardly projecting, wide, flat clamping bar '42,t he distal end of which has anupwardly'projecting, transverse lip 43. Referring to Figures 4 and 5, the chair back 44 is provided at its bottom edge with atrearwardly projecting bead 46. This is conventional construction, and as will be noted from Figure 4, the lip 43 is adapted to engage in front of the chair back, with the bead 46 bearing against the top surface of the bar 42, immediately in back of the lip.

Thus, the device in eifect is clamped to the chair back,

in that the bar 42 prevents upward movement of the device, while the hooks prevent downward movement thereof. Forward or rearward movement of the device is prevented by reason of the fact that the lip 43 engages against the front surface of the chair back 44, while the free ends of the legs 36 bear against the back surface of said chair back.

It will be understood that it will be desirable that the color of the rack either match or harmonize with that of the folding chair. The rack can, thus, be made almost entirely out of plastic, so that the color will be already provided in the rack, eliminating painting and other maintenance operations. Of course, this is merely one material of many that could be used, and alternatively, I may prefer to use metal, wood, or other materials. The use of plastic may be preferred, by reason of the fact that there would be eliminated many components that would otherwise be required if other materials were employed, such as connecting bolts, rubber protectors, etc. It will be understood, further, that although a clamping action is provided, which will normally hold the rack securely and fixedly against the chair back, the rack can still be readily removed or applied. The bar 42, thus, could be of a slightly resilient material, so that it could be'bent downwardly to a slight extent, sufliciently topermit the lip- 43 to clear the beaded bottom edge of the chair back 44.

In the construction illustrated and described, the book rack is effectively attached in an out-of-the-way position to the chair, and supports one or more books efficiently. The end frames of the device prevent the'books from moving laterally out of the ends of the rack, since the books will engage the upper legs of the end frames. Similarly, the retaining bars and bottom bars will securely hold thebooks within the racks, while still providing ready and immediate access to any book.

It is believed apparent that the invention is not necessarily confined to the specific use or uses thereof described above, since it may be utilized for any purpose to which it may be suited. Nor is the invention to benecessarily limited to the specific construction illustrated and described, since such construction is only intended to be illustrative of the principles of operation andthe means presently devised to' carry out said principles, it being considered that the'invention comprehends any minor change in construction that may be permitted within the scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed is: j

A book rack for suspension from a chair back, comprising a pair of identically formed, transversely spaced hooks of inverted J-shape adapted for engagement over a chair back, each of said hooks including a short front leg and a long rear leg, therear legs of the hooks being straight and being disposed in a common plane; a pair of identically formed, transversely spaced, forwardly opening, C-shaped end frames having straight, upper legs lying in a common plane, perpendicular to the common plane of the rear legs of the hooks, said upper legs of the end frames having front ends fixedly secured to the lower extremities of the rear legs of the hooks in the common plane of the hooks, said upper legs being disposed, over their full lengths, rearwardly of said first named common plane, said end frames further including straight, elongated bight portions extending downwardly from the rear extremities of the upper legs in a common plane parallel'to the first named plane and lower legs rigid with and projecting forwardly from the' lower extremities of said bight portions in a common plane parallel to the common plane of the upper legs of the end frames, the'lower legs of the end frames being slightly longer than the upper legs thereof so as to have their front ends disposed forwardly of the first named plane; a bottom'bar extending between and fixedly connected at its opposite ends to the'lower legs of the respective end frames, at a location between the common plane of the rear'legs of the hooks; and the common planes of said bight portions of the end frames; a clamping bar connected to and projecting forwardly from the bottom bar intermediate the respective end frames, said clamping bar projecting forwardly beyond the forward extremities of the lower legs of the end frames, the clamping bar at its forward end having an upwardly directed lip for engagement with the lower edge portion of a chair back the top edge portion of which is straddled by said hooks and aplurality of retaining bars disposed substantially in the common plane of said bight portions and extending between and connected to the'bight portions, said retaining bars being spaced longitudinally of the bight .portions to provide means for retaining between the end frames articles supported on said bottom bar.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 680,213 'Baker et al Aug. 13, 1901 1,285,158 Haynes Nov. 19, 1918 2,278,014 Olivant Mar. 31, 1942 2,515,955 Eudy July 18, 1950 2,518,127 Dobbs Aug. 8, 1950 2,536,797 Cooke Jan. 2, 1951 2,558,323 Strun June 26, 1951 2,584,646 Wagstalf Feb. 5, 1952 2,672,988 Johnson Mar. 23, 1954 

